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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Hey, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the giveaway! Thank you all SO MUCH for participating!

Today's post should have been nail art, but since my wireless mouse died and I really don't want to deal with a fiddly touchpad while going through/cropping/editing my photos, I'm going to be doing a review instead! I've had this item for quite some time now, but I was waiting until after I had a chance to clean it to do a full review on it.

The Wendy's Ceramics White Paint Palette is pretty much a flat, ceramic flower! It has a diameter of 5 and a half inches, and each of the nine wells is about 0.5 cm deep. Because it is ceramic and not plastic, it holds up well to the chemicals in nail polish, thinner, and remover. The easiest way to clean it is to fill each well with acetone, use an old paintbrush to scrub away the caked-on polish, dump the dirty acetone***, rinse with water, and then give it a swipe with an acetone-soaked paper towel. Because there are so many wells, you will likely be able to do several manis between cleanings. I have really enjoyed using this palette! It's so much better than those plastic palettes!

The White Paint Palette costs $9.97 and can be purchased from the Wendy's Ceramics Etsy shop. I believe that if you live in Canada, the shipping costs aren't so bad, but if you don't live in Canada, your $9.97 palette is going to become about a $19 palette! I would recommend finding some friends to go in on a group buy, because the cost per palette will likely decrease significantly if you place a larger order.

***NEVER dump polish remover down the sink! Dump it onto a pile of old newspapers or something, allow it to evaporate, and then throw out the soiled items.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Hey everyone! I'm very happy to see that so many of you have entered my giveaway! I've been having a wonderful anniversary weekend with my fiance, and today I have a polish that I wore out to dinner! The colors kind of matched the print on my dress :-)

HARE Polish The Sky Was Pink features a rich pink jelly base filled with small blue, purple, pink, and periwinkle (maybe?) glitter. It's kind of hard to tell what color some of the glitters are because the base color is so rich! I've had a lot of trouble with some of my HARE polishes having terrible formulas, but the formula on this one was great! Dry time was fast. I used 2 coats, but some folks may prefer 3 thin coats.

The weather has been generally cloudy and funky, so these photos didn't go so well :-/

HARE Polish costs $10-$11 for 15mL and is available on Llarowe and Etsy. You can stay up-to-date on HARE Polish news by Liking the brand's Facebook page.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Hey guys! I'm a little busy celebrating my anniversary with my fiance and I haven't had the time to edit swatch pics, so you're getting something a little different today! I don't know about you guys, but every time I go to KBShimmer's website to check out the polish, I take a detour to check out their handmade soaps. I finally decided to just give them a try!

First, I should say that I actually ordered the Spearmint soap, but was mistakenly sent the Peppermint soap because a new employee got a little confused. KBShimmer sent a replacement Spearmint soap and I was allowed to keep the Peppermint soap, so I'll be minty fresh for weeks to come, haha!

KBShimmer Peppermint Soap features a pretty red and white swirled design. This is a pretty soft soap, and it's very easy to cut it into smaller pieces. It smells just like a candy cane, though I find that once you're in the shower, the candy element of the scent kind of disappears and it just smells straight-up minty. It lathers up nicely and actually makes your skin feel cool and tingly! You should avoid using this soap on sensitive areas, though, since that tingle can become an uncomfortable stinging or burning sensation if the soap is applied to the wrong area. I accidentally got some soap on a scrape I didn't realize I had, and it was a little uncomfortable. Not horrible, but worth noting! The soap was not drying, but it wasn't particularly moisturizing, either...pretty neutral on that front. It left me feeling clean and didn't leave behind any kind of residue or film. I like it a lot!

Must be following both The Sparkling Hoard and Liquid Lacquer on Facebook, following via other means is strongly encouraged, entries will be verified

Starts now, ends July 31st at 12am Eastern

International Readers: Unfortunately, I will not ship outside the US. If you have an American friend who can forward your prize to you, then you may enter. I promise at least some of my future giveaways will be open to my international readers. I have already started preparing for giveaways in September and December, and I plan to have international prizes for both of them.

Blue Pistachio features small and medium bright blue hexagonal glitters and rainbow shimmer in a bright pastel green crelly base. It's pretty much a neon pastel...not sure how much sense that makes, but that's the only way I can describe it! The formula was amazing and it was so easy to control the polish that I didn't need to do any cleanup! I used 2 thick coats to reach full opacity, but others may prefer 3 thin coats. Dry time was average.

My camera had a fair bit of trouble with this polish. For some reason, it made the bright blue glitter look like periwinkle blue glitter instead. I promise you that the glitter is bright blue!

Only one photo out of many turned out even remotely decent :-(

What do you think? If you like this polish, be sure to enter my giveaway, because you could win it!

Liquid Lacquer polishes cost $8 for 15mL, making them a very affordable indie! The brand often offers coupon codes, so be sure to check their Facebook page before placing an order!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Hey, folks! I've got another polish from Liquid Lacquer for you today!

Liquid Lacquer Bubble Up! is a clear base glitter topper featuring blue/purple iridescent glitter, green/yellow iridescent microglitter, and pale pink circle and hexagonal glitters. You could totally play up the whole ethereal/girly vibe by layering it over pale colors, but I decided to go a more fun and funky route, so I layered one coat of Bubble Up! over three coats of China Glaze Creative Fantasy. The iridescent glitter looks like pure blue glitter over the dark purple, but trust me, it's iridescent! The formula is nice and the somewhat thick base allows the larger glitters to stay suspended and evenly distributed throughout the polish. Dry time was average.

In sun

In shade

I'll have another Liquid Lacquer polish plus a giveaway featuring Liquid Lacquer polishes on Wednesday! Just be aware that the post may go up later in the day than usual...I'm celebrating my 6th anniversary with my fiance this week, so my schedule is a little out of whack!

Friday, July 19, 2013

Hey guys, I'm sure you're all aware of the sad news that hit the beauty community this week, but in case you're not...

Talia Joy Castellano was a 13-year-old YouTube beauty guru with so much promise and talent. Unfortunately, she was taken from the world far too soon. At 11:22am on July 16th, Talia's 6-year battle with cancer came to a close.

Since Talia's last Instagram post before she died featured a mint green manicure, Nicole from Nail Polish Wars suggested that we all wear mint green nail polish today in memory of Talia. I'm wearing 2 coats of Essie First Timer (it looked more minty in the bottle than it does on the nail, but I still like it). On the accent nail, I painted a gold childhood cancer awareness ribbon using Zoya Ziv and Orly Liquid Vinyl. I was having some trouble with my hands, so the ribbon isn't perfect, but I think it turned out okay, all things considered.

Talia's family has asked that donations be made to BASE Camp Children's Cancer Foundation, an organization which seeks to provide "support for children and families who are facing the challenge of living with cancer and other life-threatening hematological illnesses."

I'm sorry this was such a short post, guys...I'll have more to say on the subject in September, when The Sparkling Hoard goes gold for childhood cancer awareness month. It's just so hard to find the words sometimes. Every day, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer, and 7 more children die...it's the number one disease killer of children...and yet, less than 4% of all cancer research funding goes towards pediatric cancer. It's just not fair.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Hey! I've got an oldie but a goodie for you guys today: the very popular NerdLacquer Cyance Friction! I'm so glad I scored this in the last restock because it truly lives up to the hype.

Cyance Friction is a bright teal creme loaded with vibrant, purpley-pink shimmer. It also features several sizes of copper hex glitter and small teal square glitter. The teal glitters appear to be curled, but I think it's just reflective curling, not physical curling. It's a beautiful polish! The formula was nice, though it's on the thinner side, so you'll want to be careful not to overload the brush and flood your cuticles. Dry time was average. I used 2 coats.

Also, I just want to say that I'm sorry about the quality of these photos. I had a very hard time getting accurate pictures. I don't know if it's me, my camera, the ridiculously intense sunlight, or what, but it just didn't go well :-( . Additionally, I tried making some slight color corrections (my photos were all very blue, while Cyance Friction is teal), but that didn't go perfectly, either.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

After the craziness of last week, I've mostly just been relaxing with my fiance, so I just have a quick little swatch for you guys today!

Last November, Pretty & Polished had a promotion in which the first few people to place an order on Black Friday received a free, unreleased mystery polish. I was one of the people who made their purchase in time, so I got a freebie! Unfortunately, my package got lost in the mail*** and since there were no more special freebies, P&P had to come up with another special polish to send me! I received this unnamed pink polish. It's a hot pink jelly with pink shimmer, small white hex glitter, and large black circle glitter. It is spectacularly ridiculous, far from chic, but very fun! The formula on this wasn't the best, due to the the circle glitter sinking (I had to shake the bottle between nails and then fish them out). Dry time was fast. I used three coats.

In sun...pardon the Seche Vite shrinkage!

In shade

As far as I know, there is no way to purchase this polish. You can stay up-to-date with Pretty & Polished by Liking their Facebook page.

**That missing package eventually turned up about 4 months later, so I ended up with two special freebie polishes, haha! Hopefully, I'll remember to swatch the other one soon :-)

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Okay, folks, this is the mani that was supposed to be posted yesterday. Unfortunately, I had to address some criticism from some rather judgmental women on Pinterest. It's kind of funny, really...my post on a mani inspired by a song which preaches the importance of ignoring judgmental people was delayed by me having to deal with judgmental people! I really cannot thank all of you enough for supporting me and reaching out to me during that mess, by the way. It meant the world to me <3 .

So, as you have probably figured out from the title of this post, this mani was inspired by Kacey Musgraves' "Follow Your Arrow." Kacey is a country singer/songwriter known for her heartbreakingly honest lyrics about small-town life. Even if you've never heard Kacey sing, there's a good chance you're familiar with her work. You know that Miranda Lambert song called "Mama's Broken Heart"...? Kacey co-wrote that! She also, of course, co-wrote all the songs on her major label debut, Same Trailer Different Park. Have a listen to the catchy and uplifting "Follow Your Arrow":

So make lots of noise, kiss lots of boys

Or kiss lots of girls, if that's something you're into

When the straight and narrow gets a little too straight, roll up a joint

Or don't!

Just follow your arrow wherever it points

Since we're dealing with a country song, I wanted to use colors that had a sort of earthy, rustic vibe. I chose China Glaze Mahogany Magic for the brown designs and OPI My Vampire is Buff (3 coats) for the cream-colored background. As far as the design goes, I wanted it to feel like a pattern with arrows pointing in all different directions. I really love how it came out! Here are some tips which helped me in achieving this look:

Your letters will likely end up bigger than you imagined, so give yourself extra space.

Capital letters are easier than lowercase letters.

Use a brush with a very fine point. If you have one of those cheap sets of nail art brushes, I really like the brush with the bent ferrule (metal part) and the short brush with the fat handle.

Break your letters into portions. For example, the letter R requires 3 separate strokes (the main line, the curved part, and the little "leg").

Your O's will likely always be wonky. Paint a good shape and then dot your base color in the center. This will even out the empty space in the center of the O.

If a letter has a curved portion (D, R, S, etc), I find it's easier to do the curved areas from bottom to top rather than from top to bottom.

Tips for painting straight lines

Use a medium or long striper brush (lay it down and pull gently)

If you don't like the long stripers or you need a finer line, choose a short striper or a detail brush. Put the tip down at one end and move/rock the nail being painted without really moving your brush. Moving the nail across a stationary brush is often easier than moving your tiny brush in a straight line along a stationary nail.

If your line is wobbly, go over it again with polish and then touch things up by drawing a line alongside it in acetone (this should erase any polish that got too far out of line).

General tips for nail art

Do a rough draft of your design on a nail wheel, especially if you're trying a new technique.

Always use a slightly thicker top coat (think Seche Vite, Butter London Hardwear, Poshe, etc.) on top of your base. This will allow you to erase some mistakes with clean acetone without damaging your base color.

Put a few drops of the polish you are using onto a palette and periodically add nail polish thinner to it. It's much easier to paint with polish that is of a slightly thinner consistency (just don't thin it too much or else it will be runny and dissolve your base color).

Frequently remove built-up polish from your brush by swishing it in acetone. This keeps your brush from being all fat and blobby, allowing you to make precise strokes.

Well, there you have it, another song mani! What do you think? Will you be practicing your lines and lettering? Are you a Kacey Musgraves fan? Will you be ignoring mean people in favor of just following your arrow? :-p

All products purchased by me. I am not associated with Kacey Musgraves. The song "Follow Your Arrow" does not belong to me.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

I was planning to post some nail art today, but it seems we have a little issue to discuss!

A few weeks ago, I posted this photo on Pinterest:

Today, I discovered that in the weeks since I posted the photo, several people had posted comments discussing what "terrible acrylics" I had. The problem with those statements (aside from being totally unnecessary little tidbits of cruelty), of course, is that

I do not have acrylic nails

I just have the terrible misfortune of having ugly natural nails! Allow me to explain!

I have a painful, disfiguring, and incurable medical condition known as primary lymphedema praecox of all four extremities. This means that my arms, legs, hands, and feet swell with lymphatic fluid. I was born with a lymphatic system which was destined to fail. The channels through which my lymphatic fluid travels did not develop properly, and I was born with incorrect numbers of lymph nodes. For the first twelve years of my life, my lymphatic system handled things pretty well. However, when I reached adolescence and grew taller, my wimpy lymphatic system could no longer handle my body, and I began to show signs of the condition. I was finally diagnosed at the age of 16, after days of uncomfortable testing, and years of wondering what was happening to me.

Since your nails grow on your fingers and my fingers are constantly in a state of various degrees of swelling, my nails appear to be getting distorted as they grow. Lymphedema is also known to be linked to a rare condition affecting nails, so there is clearly a connection between lymphedema and nail health.

When I was diagnosed, my doctor gave me a long list of things I could and couldn't do, as well as samples of lotion and antibiotic ointment. Individuals with lymphedema are highly susceptible to life-threatening infections, particularly infections arising from breaks in the skin. I have to keep my skin moisturized (to avoid cracking skin), avoid injuring my skin, and carefully treat and monitor any injuries I may get. Even something as minor as a paper cut could cause massive problems if it got infected. Necessary medical procedures, like injections, can even pose a risk to me. I have to do everything I can to avoid being injured or developing an infection. Therefore, I am not allowed to get salon manicures/acrylic enhancements/etc. Even the cleanest salon poses a risk to me. Technically, my doctors don't even want me to have long nails or do my own manicures! I have chosen to take the risk of polishing and growing my nails because it helps me feel normal and pretty. However, I will not take the risk of getting salon manicures/acrylic enhancements.

I also have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which, in my case, includes a fear of germs, excessive hand washing, and lots of long showers. My nails therefore get exposed to a lot of water, which causes them to bloat up and become misshapen.

I will not go into treatments and such, as that is a very personal subject

But why do your nails look so thick?

I tend to do thick coats of polish and I usually use a very thick top coat called Seche Vite. As far as this particular photo goes, 16 Candles is a sheer polish, and I had to use 3 thick coats of it. I also had to top it with an especially thick coat of Seche Vite in order to smooth out those big glitters!

I see glue!

I don't know what you are seeing. Bits of my Elmer's Glue base coat? Remnants of Seche Vite that went astray? Elmer's Glue is an improvised peel-off base coat, which I use so that I don't have to soak my nails in remover to get my polish off. The Seche Vite may have gotten a little messy because this swatch was a rush job.

Haven't you mentioned something about glue before...?

I do use Krazy Glue to repair tears in my nails, but that just gets applied to the torn area, not the entire nail. This is a very common practice among people who grow out their natural nails (though most people use a tea bag/silk patch and nail glue). When I get tears, they're pretty much always "past the quick," so to speak. I HAVE to repair it and keep the nail from breaking all the way across because if it developed into a bad break, there would be a risk of infection.

Why is your index finger nail so different from the others?

I have no idea. It's the same situation on both hands (flat, curves downward, etc). I hate it with a passion.

Why don't you just keep your nails short if they grow out so ugly?

-I have short, swollen, fingers. Having long nails makes them look a little longer and less sausage-like lol.

-I have very short nail beds, so I need to have length in order to do nail art.

-I bit, peeled, and picked at my nails (anxiety and OCD-related) throughout my whole life. Having long nails is a sign of my victory over that destructive behavior.

You really shouldn't be growing out your nails and doing home manicures!

I know. Everyone with lymphedema does a few things they technically shouldn't do (did you know that we're technically not supposed to do other normal, beauty-related things, like shave with a regular razor, or wear flip-flops?). Breaking a few rules helps us feel normal when our bodies are so abnormal. We just have to be very careful when we break the rules!

Show me your natural nails!

No. My natural nails are discolored, ridged, pitted, and have very misshapen smile lines. I am extremely self-conscious of them. You can get an idea of how bad they are from this old swatch of a jelly polish, which first appeared on my Tumblr last fall:

I didn't bother with watermarking back then, lol

So, there you have it! I have ugly nails! I know I have ugly nails! You don't have to make me feel bad about it!

If you have any questions, I will try to answer them to the best of my ability. However, I cannot promise that I will answer every question, as we are dealing with a rather personal and private topic here.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Hey, guys! As you can tell, I took a long holiday weekend off from blogging! This heat, man, it just makes you want to lay around and do nothing. Taking swatch photos outside has become a rather uncomfortable experience...not just because of the heat, but because I caught my neighbors whispering to each other while pointing at me >.<

Oh well, the discomfort was worth it because I got to see this beautiful holo in the sunlight!

Indigo Bananas Alcatraz is part of the brand's Executive Holos collection. It's sort of the color of a moody sea...kind of seafoam, kind of teal, but muted. It also has a subtle purple shimmer, which I couldn't really catch on camera. And, of course, it's holographic! The holo in this polish is of the linear variety, though it's a bit soft around the edges. The formula was excellent, though because this polish dries fast (as most holos do), you'll want to work quickly and smoothly to avoid any brushstrokes or unevenness. I was satisfied with 2 coats, though Indigo Bananas suggests using 3 coats.

In sun

In shade, so you can kind of see how it looks on the rare occasion that the holo isn't visible

So pretty! I tend to love anything that resembles the sea, though :-). What do you think?

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy Fourth of July to all my American readers! I have once again taken the lazy route and used a patriotic indie polish rather than doing patriotic nail art. However, since Americans are stereotyped as being lazy, I will argue that I'm just being extra patriotic! ;-)

Jindie Nails JINDIE-Pendence was a numbered (I got #54) Limited Edition polish released a few weeks ago. It features a white crelly base filled with an insane mix of matte and metallic red, white, blue, and silver glitter. It's got stars, circles, diamonds, hexagons, squares, rectangles...seriously, it's nuts. I had no trouble at all getting even the huge shapes to come out! While I had to do a little pushing and dabbing, the glitter mostly just flowed easily onto the nail. You really couldn't ask for a better formula, as far as giant-glitter-packed polishes go. I chose to layer 2 coats of JINDIE-Pendence over 1 coat of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, but it looks like JINDIE-Pendence could reach full opacity in 3 or so coats. Dry time was average.

This is probably the best cuticle oil I've ever tried! It feels very nourishing and it makes my cuticles and nails feel healthy and moisturized. While it is obviously an oily substance, it absorbs quite well, so it doesn't feel gross. If you accidentally use too much (a little goes a long way, and it can be easy to overdo it) , just blot off the excess with a towel. As far as the scent goes, it does indeed smell like biscotti. If I apply it before bed, I wake up to discover that it smells as if I'd been baking in my room! In the future, I'd really like to try one of the other scents offered (Fruit Punch and Tropical Souffle).

What I didn't like:

I'm not a fan of the packaging and would prefer that it come in a polish bottle instead. It's easy to dispense too much with the eye dropper, and dipping a long, thin piece of glass into an open, tall, glass vial full of oil is sort of a tricky proposition. I'm always kind of afraid that I'm going to spill it. I would also prefer plastic labels, since the paper labels absorb oil if you handle the bottle with oily fingertips.

The bottom line:

I love the product, but I dislike the packaging. Fortunately for Pretty & Polished, the oil itself is so nice that I would still buy it despite my isseus with the packaging.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Hey guys! Sorry for being quiet lately, I've been having some "bad nail days"...swatches I wasn't thrilled with, nail art that frustrated me, etc. I'm not entirely happy with the swatches I'm posting today, actually, but I wanted to post something, so, on we go!

Rainbow Honey's The Kraken (Summer of 199X collection) features a rich, blue-leaning teal jelly base packed with a complex mix of shimmer and glitter, including some awesome gold holographic glitter. The base color and shimmer kind of reminds me of Zoya Charla! The formula was nice and easy to control, though I did go a bit "outside the lines" because I was having trouble with my hands that day. As you can tell, clean-up was a bit difficult and the blue color got stuck in my cuticle area. I was satisfied with the opacity after just one thick coat. I was afraid it would stain, but it did not. Dry time was average.

I got a 4mL mini bottle, and I have to say, the new 4mL bottles are so much better than Rainbow Honey's old mini bottles! You can actually reach all the way down into the bottle now! The only thing I dislike about the new minis is that they only seem to have about 4-5 manis worth of polish in them.

In sun, pulling a bit green

In cloudy weather, pulling a bit blue

It really has that "under the sea" kind of vibe to it! I like it a lot!

Rainbow Honey polishes cost $10 for 15mL. Minis of polishes found in the Summer of 199X collection are currently only available in sets ($20 for a set of 5, $40 for the full set of 10). Rainbow Honey polishes can be purchased at Rainbow Honey's online store and from retailers around the world. You can stay up-to-date on the latest Rainbow Honey news by Liking their Facebook page.

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About Me

I'm a 26-year-old who loves nail polish far too much! I got into this mess a little under a year ago when I got engaged and didn't want anyone to catch sight of my ugly, peeled, and bitten nails when checking out my ring. I can proudly say that I haven't bitten/peeled my nails since then!

Due to some medical issues affecting my hands, I will likely never have perfect nail shapes and pretty poses. I hope that you can look past the imperfect canvas and enjoy the swatches, art, and reviews anyway.

Please use the contact form towards the top of the page for any specific questions, PR inquiries, etc.